Homily for the Week of July 21, 2013

HOMILY: Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, 2013 Genesis 18:1-10a Psalm 15:2-3, 3-4, 5 Colossians 1:24-28 Luke 10:38-42 In life we must constantly try to focus on the main thing. And as you well know it is easy to get distracted; to become preoccupied with something that is not the main thing. We can even become so preoccupied with this particular thought or feeling that we become addicted to it. The main thing is to know the main thing and to keep the main thing the main thing. With only a little imagination, this saying could have been something that Jesus might have said to Martha in our popular Bible story today about Martha and Mary. The question for us from this story is what is the main thing? The main thing is too often missed. The rules of Jewish hospitality were very clear. The purpose of Christian hospitality was that every stranger should be received as if he or she is Jesus himself. Hospitality has always been — and remains — an important social requirement of Middle Eastern culture. How you treat strangers, how you greet people, how you welcome people into you home, how you serve people, all of these are very important. Failures in hospitality are perceived as insults. Breaches of hospitality on a high enough level could start a war. In our first reading we see this expression of hospitality in the behavior of Abraham. Abraham was at the entrance of his tent, which would have been big enough for a family to cook and sleep. To get away from the very hot noon sun Abraham was sitting under an oak tree at the entrance of his tent. He sees three strangers near his tent. Abraham does not merely invite the three strangers to stop and rest in the shade but he insists that they do. He did not merely grab tea for the three men. He put the whole household to work preparing a feast. Why? It was a way to serve God. For two sisters Martha and Mary, providing hospitality was a religious expression of service in the name of God. Jesus had been invited to their home for dinner. To appreciate what happened and what Jesus taught Martha and Mary, it is helpful to recognize what was not going on. Often we read too many things into this story, making assumptions and adding details that are not present. For example, Jesus does not criticize Martha for preparing a meal. At no point does Jesus say or imply that what Mary was doing was more important that what Martha was doing. Although very often this story has been used to indicate that Jesus was more interested in people who pray that in people who serve others. There is a subplot in the story that is very important. Every person is called to be a disciple or follower of Jesus. Jewish social and religious customs usually prohibited women from being students or disciples of religious teachers like Jesus. We are told that “Mary. . .sat beside the Lord at his feet, listening to him speak.” Sitting is the position of students at the time of Jesus. Teachers sat in a chair to teach, and students sat on the floor literally at their feet. The point of describing Mary in the role of a student is not to criticize Martha. It is a broader statement that everyone is called to be a student of Jesus and to listen to His Word. Here is the main thing: The truth is that Martha and Mary are doing the same thing. They are both devoted to Jesus and so both are serving Jesus. Jesus would not criticize Martha for preparing a meal. Luke who w wrote this Bible passage tells us over and over that Jesus came to serve. The verb Luke used a Greek word that was typically used to describe a person who waited on tables -- a waitress or a waiter. The word has been translated into English by the word “deacon.” If Martha was doing what she should have been doing, then why did Jesus tell her that she was anxious and worried? Jesus was trying to tell Martha that she has lost focus on why she was doing what she was doing. The word “worried” can be translated as “distracted,” and this is exactly what happens when we worry: we become distracted. Martha was drawn away from something. Martha’s concern about what her sister Mary was doing distracted her and therefore made preparing a meal a burden to her. Jesus was trying to tell her to stay focused on why she was doing what she was doing. The “better part” was not sitting at the feet of Jesus like Mary was doing. That applies to each of us. The “better part” is finding our focus in Jesus for whatever we do. Jesus did not place one activity — listening or preparing a meal — above the other. Both are important to Jesus, for they are both expressions of our desire to love and serve.